By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune Reporter

With a ceremony on Thursday morning, the city of Newport took the first step towards a shady future for the city’s residents

As part of ReNewport, the city will begin planting the entire west side in October.

A historic $1 million federal grant was announced to remove concrete and replace it with soil so up to 1,000 trees can be planted.

“With this project, we see clearly how valuable an arborist is to the city,” said Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. “And that value extends far beyond this project. The arborist is extensively involved in tree planting and maintenance throughout the city. When trees are planted and maintained, we fully believe that the work benefits the city because it is done by a highly qualified professional.”

The Urban Forestry Inflation Reduction Grant of $998,750 was originally awarded to the City of Newport in late 2023. This funding is intended to address the issue of climate change by providing residents with access to trees and nature so they can share in the important benefits they provide to urban communities. The City, ReNewport, the Westside Citizens Coalition and Urban Canopy Works collaborated to apply for the grant.

ReNewport and its volunteers are no strangers to tree planting. In fact, over the past few years they have planted more than 600 trees throughout Newport.

The city already conducted a small planting event as a pilot project in June, but the first official planting is scheduled to begin on Oct. 19 with about 100 trees, said Cassandra Homan-Wall, an urban forest consultant with Urban Canopy Works. The plan is to plant about 25 trees initially, and then the remaining trees will be planted in three mini-planting events over the course of the fall.

Plantings will then take place each spring and fall until the grant ends in spring 2028. All plantings will be done by ReNewport and community volunteers, and the Westside Citizens Coalition will share this task, with assistance from Urban Canopy Works, the city’s arborist.

This grant of nearly $1 million represents the largest green investment in Newport’s history, said Josh Tunning, executive director of ReNewport.

“This investment in West Newport will bring much-needed environmental benefits to a neighborhood that has less than five percent tree canopy,” Tunning said. “New trees in the neighborhood will provide shade, lower surface temperatures and residents’ utility bills, provide cleaner air as new trees filter out pollutants, and reduce water runoff by turning unneeded concrete into new green space.”

Homan-Wall has studied the different neighborhoods in Newport and found that tree canopies vary in different neighborhoods. She has collected data showing that neighborhoods west of downtown Newport tend to have more trees compared to other parts of the city because of the heat and poor air quality.

“This is directly related to the fact that only 10 to 12 percent of this area is covered by trees, compared to 24 to 54 percent in other parts of Newport,” Homan-Wall said.

Studies show that low tree canopy cover in an area can also cause other problems, such as higher energy costs, lower life expectancy, and possibly other disadvantages.

“This area of ​​low tree cover is in an area where many residents lack the resources to deal with these stressors,” Homan-Wall said. “This is an environmental justice issue and one that this new federal grant aims to address.”

The grant was one of more than $1 billion to support 385 projects in all 50 states and several U.S. territories and tribal nations.

“These investments come as cities across the country are experiencing record-breaking heat waves that are having serious impacts on public health, energy use and overall well-being,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a press release announcing the funding. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are helping communities become more resilient to climate change and combat extreme heat with the cooling effects of greater urban tree cover, while supporting job opportunities and job training that strengthen local economies.”

“Thanks to the efforts of everyone involved, the grant has enabled us to continue our 40-year effort to bring beautiful trees to the city,” said Newport City Manager Tom Fromme.